GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING PREVIEW
HISTORICAL ANALYSIS
The City Council on Tuesday is slated to consider authorizing a historical analysis of two neighborhoods as they seek historic district status.
The survey for the block-long Cottage Grove Avenue at the foot of Adams Hill would cost nearly $14,900, while a less intensive survey for a section of Ard Eevin Highlands will cost $7,500.
Consultants will first examine the history of both areas to determine their architectural history, and out of that, develop a historic context statement.
They will then evaluate the historic integrity of the homes within the proposed districts to see if they contribute to the historical context of the neighborhood. If at least 60% of the homes surveyed are deemed to be historic contributors, the proposed district would qualify for the next phase in the application process.
The Cottage Grove Avenue application is the smallest so far, with just 14 homes listed for possible inclusion, while the proposed boundaries for the Ard Eevin Highlands district would encompass 87 homes — the largest so far.
The historic resource survey for a third proposed district — a 30-home stretch on Royal Boulevard — was recently completed and is now under evaluation by city planners before it is presented to the Historic Preservation Commission.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The City Council will likely approve the requests since, as with the Royal Boulevard application, the proposed districts have already secured broad residential support.
DEPARTMENTS RE-SEPARATED
After combining the human resources and finance departments in 2003, the City Council on Tuesday will be asked to separate them again to reflect recent changes in the city’s executive management team.
The two departments were originally combined under the umbrella of the Administrative Services Department when then-director Robert Franz had extensive experience in both finance and labor relations.
But his recent retirement led to the appointment of Matt Doyle as director of human resources, leaving the top spot for the finance department vacant — a position city officials are looking to fill soon.
City Manager Jim Starbird is asking the council to restore the separation of management for the two departments to reflect the changed expertise of the executive team.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The council will likely approve the change since it has already endorsed the new structure unofficially with the confirmation of Doyle as human resources director.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
The City Council, during a special 2:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday, is expected to hold final deliberations on a list of more than $100 million in capital improvement projects that has taken months of review and discussions to develop.
The list includes a group of big-ticket items that, over the course of deliberations, quickly absorbed the capital improvement budget, including $12 million for an overhaul of a portion of Central Avenue, $3.5 million for a soccer field at Columbus Elementary School, $12 million for new park development and millions more for upgrades to the library system.
A plan to purchase the Rockhaven Sanitarium site in Montrose to accommodate a new branch library there, in addition to a revamped Montrose fire station, is also part of the list of capital improvement projects that is expected to be incorporated into the city’s next fiscal budget in June.
WHAT TO EXPECT
While some of the items on the list may be modified during discussions, the council is expected to finalize the list after several stalled attempts at doing so that delayed the process at least two months.